London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Millionaire space tourists welcomed aboard space station after paying $55m each

Millionaire space tourists welcomed aboard space station after paying $55m each

The spaceflight is a watershed moment for commercial space operations, and the charter company says it is a first step towards building its own commercial space station.

Three multimillionaire businessmen have docked and entered the International Space Station in what has been hailed as a milestone for commercial space exploration.

Alongside a retired NASA astronaut, the men launched from Florida on Friday as part of a private SpaceX launch.

The four men were welcomed onboard the ISS on Saturday by the crew there as NASA joins Russia in hosting guests at the world's most expensive tourist destination.

The four astronauts were welcomed aboard the ISS on Saturday


The American, Canadian and Israeli businessmen each paid $55m (£42m) for the rocket ride and accommodation.

The launch, codenamed Ax-1, was commissioned by Axiom Space, a US space infrastructure developer.

Michael López-Alegría, the former NASA astronaut who escorted the men, is the company's vice president of business development.

The launch was the sixth human spaceflight conducted by SpaceX and the first private launch that it has docked with the ISS.

Eytan Stibbe arrives


The four men say they are not tourists as they will be conducting commercial scientific research while on board, including on "self-assembling technology for satellites and future space habitats, cancer stem cell study, and air purification".

The Ax-1 mission launched in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Friday


Axiom describes the mission as its first step towards building a commercial space station, which NASA expects to take off over the next few years, ultimately leading to pulling the ISS out of the sky.

The US response to the Russian war in Ukraine has led to the head of Roscosmos pledging to no longer collaborate on the international project.

Mark Pathy arrives


NASA's plans, which pre-date the invasion and sanctions, could mean the ISS is taken out of orbit in January 2031 and crashed into a "spacecraft cemetery" in the most remote part of the Earth's surface.

NASA plans to crash the ISS into the most remote part of the surface of Earth


The four astronauts who arrived on Saturday will have access to the entire ISS - excluding the Russian section - and will live alongside three Americans and a German.

The three paying customers are: Larry Connor of Dayton, Ohio, who runs the Connor Group; Mark Pathy, founder and chief executive of Montreal's Mavrik Corp; and Israel's Eytan Stibbe, a former fighter pilot and founding partner of Vital Capital.

The launch took place on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral


Russia has been hosting visitors at the space station for decades, and before that at the Mir station.

Last autumn, a Russian movie crew was flown up, followed by a Japanese fashion tycoon and his assistant.

Now, after years of opposing space station tourists, NASA is finally getting on board.

SpaceX's Dragon capsule docked on Saturday


Mr Lopez-Alegria said he plans to avoid talking about politics and the crisis in Ukraine while he's at the space station.

"I honestly think that it won't be awkward. I mean maybe a tiny bit," he said, adding that he expects the "spirit of collaboration will shine through".

Michael Lopez-Alegeria arrives


Mr Stibbe expressed his excitement ahead of the launch, doing a little dance when he arrived at the rocket at Kennedy Space Center.

The businessmen are the latest people to take advantage of the opening of space to those who can afford it.

As the men are conducting commercial research they object to the term 'space tourist'


Amazon boss Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin is taking customers on 10-minute rides to the edge of space, while Virgin Galactic is expecting to start flying customers on its rocket ship later this year.

Mr Lopez-Alegria, who spent seven months at the space station 15 years ago, said SpaceX and NASA have been upfront with the passengers about the risks of spaceflight.

"There's no fuzz, I think, on what the dangers are or what the bad days could look like," he told Associated Press before the flight.

The mission is the sixth manned spaceflight for SpaceX


Every visitor has a full state of experiments to conduct during their stay - which is partly why they don't like being called space tourists.

"They're not up there to paste their nose on the window," Michael Suffredini, Axiom's co-founder and president, said.

Friday's launch is the second private charter for Elon Musk's SpaceX, which took a billionaire and his guests on a three-day orbit ride last year.

Axiom is targeting next year for its second private flight to the space station. It says a participant in a future launch will be chosen through a reality television show.

More customer trips will follow, with Axiom adding its own rooms to the orbiting complex beginning in 2024.

The automated SpaceX capsule is due back with the four on 19 April.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
×